By I was watching ABC’s, What Would You Do? show yesterday and here is one of the topics that ROK Drop readers may find of interest:
It has only been two months since Congress voted to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, although final implementation awaits a review by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Polls show a majority of Americans support the end of the 17-year-old policy, but others have openly opposed the decision.
The repeal remains a hot topic, so “What Would You Do?” decided to set up hidden cameras inside the Colonial Diner in Lyndhurst, N.J., to see how people felt about openly gay servicemen showing affection in public. We hired actors to play the roles of our two soldiers and an instigator, posing as a patron who thinks the affection has gone too far., [ABC News]
You can watch video at the link, but a problem I had with the program was that it made out to be that it was perfectly acceptable for servicemembers in uniform to feel each other up and kiss in a public setting. For those of us in the military we know this is rubbish.
In AR 670-1 paragraph 1-10 one of the regulations in regards to where of the uniform states that you do not wear the uniform, “When wearing the uniform would bring discredit upon the Army.” The regulation also says “A vital ingredient of the Army’s strength and military effectiveness is the pride and selfdiscipline
that American soldiers bring to their Service through a conservative military image. It is the responsibility of commanders to ensure that military personnel under their command present a neat and soldierly appearance.”
This is a catch all wording that allows local commanders to make policies that prohibit public displays of affection while in uniform because it is not in keeping with military protocol of having a professional appearance. When I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington for example the local policy went as far to ban Soldiers from going to restaurants in uniform at times other than lunch hours because some Soldiers in uniform went out to dinner, got drunk, and made a scene at a local Applebee’s that a woman wrote into the local newspaper to complain about.
In fact in the new Pentagon Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that is being written, the public display of affection guidelines are going to be quite clear:
No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment.As the military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won’t dictate how troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it.
From small wording tweaks and training programs to more complex questions about benefits and religion, the proposed guidelines demand that gays and lesbians be treated just like any other soldier, sailor, airman or marine. [Associated Press]
Let me tell you what I would do if confronted with the situation depicted on the show. First of all, I would have called them frauds because they obviously were not Soldiers because of the sideburns, hair cuts, and badly kept uniforms. But lets just pretend that they were Soldiers I would have then just politely reminded them to keep a professional appearance while in uniform. Giving polite reminders to Soldiers 99% of the time handles most issues. The bottom line is that being a professional in uniform applies to everyone.
So what would you do if you saw two Soldiers kissing and feeling each other up like what was depicted in the show?
10:05 am on March 5th, 2011 1
Of course there are exceptions. The classic one is the service members returning from months long deployment to greetings from their families and loved ones.
We always see the iconic pictures and videos of naval ships returning to home port. Sure there are differences between kisses and hugs to grinding and humping, and most service members can tell where the lines are drawn. But for the newbies without common sense and good judgment, stern warnings may be required.
However, with the repeal of DADT, some may want to reset the lines of what is permissible during those return-from-deployment "greetings."
10:19 am on March 5th, 2011 2
#1 You hit it on the mark..
Just shows how MM fails to do any research or attempts to ask the ""military analyst"" on this subject before making this video in attempt to ""gauge"" public opinion.
Regards of sex, I'd identify myself, present ID, ask the people in uniform engaging in excessive PDA for their's. Then remind them of the articles concern proper wear of uniform and PDA. Never ever in my military career did I've had to does this, most uniformed personnel had the self-discipline to abide by their services policies and local regs.
10:36 am on March 5th, 2011 3
Take pictures. Submit to S&S with caption and praise on the New Military.
12:44 pm on March 5th, 2011 4
I'm still gonna go with not asking or telling for $100, Jay…
12:53 pm on March 5th, 2011 5
Don't ask why I vomit and I won't tell you… Expect conservative military norms, including traditional regulations, to get pushed and tested by the newly "legitimized." There will be militant ones who really don't give a rat's a@@ about good order and discipline and/or the military.
3:32 pm on March 5th, 2011 6
Everybody I am sure has seen the famous photo after WW2 of the sailor kissing a female civilian in I believe Time square. I can just imagine a future photo of a servicemember kissing his buttbuddy wearing a dress with hairy legs, make-up, & lipstick. I'm sure the photo will get a Pulitzer prize. What the hell have we allowed the liberals to do to our nation?
4:02 pm on March 5th, 2011 7
GI Korea, I suggest you write to ABC News and tell them pretty much what you wrote above. They obviously don't know and it would be good of them to educate them on what would actually be acceptable.
Based on my own experience writing to a different network, I dare say they might even appreciate it.
8:55 pm on March 5th, 2011 8
This is an unfair double standard.
PDA is acceptable for women but not men?
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.medicalinformaticsinsi…
10:51 pm on March 5th, 2011 9
There are supposed to be rules for what you can and can't do while in uniform, but it all depends on the unit for actual enforcement. In my old unit we would get nailed over anything and everything, then we would see soldiers from other units doing anything they wanted at all hours in their uniforms. We even saw a large group of chaplains falling down drunk, in a steak restaurant in their uniforms, being loud and grabbing the waitresses, at 7 pm on a Friday evening. Guess it all depends on who you are and who you know.
10:59 pm on March 5th, 2011 10
Look, they're soldiers, yes. They're also humans first. We're assuming that the straight soldiers are completely blameless in this regard?
This is a nice case of 'in the alternate universe where this might actually become a problem'; I'm a little more concerned with the threats our military might face than what they do in bed – or who they do it with.
11:19 pm on March 5th, 2011 11
#11 (hint) We aren't talking about what they do IN BED.
Talking about what they do in the PX, bus stop, walking outside IN PUBLIC.
You are a nice case of not being able to read. The human condition is to fock and fight. One is done in public and one really, do you want to watch that? Sounds like you do.
12:00 am on March 6th, 2011 12
Military boys making out in their youth
looks fine and that is the truth.
While some would report,
and others retort,
I’d just rub one off in my booth.
12:05 am on March 6th, 2011 13
Part of me wants to bitchslap ABC.
The other part of me thinks, "Aw, ABC actually wants to pretend it cares about the way our military members are treated. How cute."
3:56 pm on March 6th, 2011 14
Soldiers should show PDA
especially if they are gay.
Even if smoking some pipe,
avoid the stereotype.
For an iPad's a faggot cliche.
4:01 am on March 7th, 2011 15
ROKDROP hit it right on the head for handling this situation. Also, I think gay Soldiers were probably offended twice by this. These reporters are really really out of touch with Soldiers and even gays and made some horrible assumptions.
7:01 am on March 7th, 2011 16
If a male & female troop were rubbing each others legs that of course is a PDA. This whole video was just a way to gain sympathy for homosexual troops. Even if those were real soldiers DADT remains in place until the service chiefs, Secretary Gates, & The President say that it can be repealed without adverse effects which they will say soon whether or not any adverse effects will happen or not.